


Life is Better With a Family

by whatname0523



Series: Life is Better [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Family, USWNT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-06 22:49:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8772499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatname0523/pseuds/whatname0523
Summary: A, kind-of, follow up to Life is Better at the Beach. Slightly AU, just because it's in the future.





	1. Sure is nice to just be the woman with you

Christen opened the door leading into the house from the garage. It was later than she was used to getting home and she was exhausted. Kicking off her heels, she could hear faint laughter coming from the bathroom down the hall.

Christen’s phone dinged in her hand, a new email alert coming through. She looked at her phone, noting the time. _7:45, bath time,_ Christen thought to herself, hitting the lock button to cause the phone screen to go black again, ignoring the work email.

_“Alright you little fishy, times up.”_

Christen could hear Tobin’s voice from the bathroom. There was a series of splashes and more laughter, as Christen set her purse down and started to move into the house further, listening to the sounds coming from down the hall.

 _“Hey! ... No splashing.”_ Tobin was laughing through a series of demands. _“No, don’t even think about it.”_

Tiny human giggles followed Tobin’s voice, and then more splashing. Clearly, Tobin wasn’t winning whatever standoff was happening.

 _“Mama, you’re it!”_ Christen heard the tiny voice say.

Just as she was about to go towards the bathroom, the tiny child came running down the hall, a hooded robe wrapped around the young girl, who was still dripping with bath water. She was looking back towards the bathroom as she was sprinting down the hallway, clearly trying to escape from whatever game they were playing.

 _“I’m gonna get you, monkey.”_ Tobin laughed, emerging from the bathroom in a slow motion jog with the front of her t-shirt soaking wet, pretending the chase the small girl.

The child was trying to run her fastest, adrenaline kicking in. As she got to the end of the hallway, she turned her head around to map out her escape route.

“Mommy!” The little girl squealed out as she realized Christen was standing in front of her, eyes wide, running at full speed towards her mother without hesitation.

“Hi sweetie” Christen grinned immediately, crouching down and opening her arms to allow the child to launch her little body into Christen.

 _“_ Mama is gonna get me!” The girl wrapped her arms around Christen’s neck, burying her face in her shoulder, giggling some more. Christen stood up with her daughter locked tightly in her arms.

“Well, well, looks like mommy is home just in time to save you, monkey.” Tobin approached the two, tickling her daughters sides as Christen held her. “You’re lucky.”

“Hi Babe.” Tobin smiled, leaning in to give Christen a quick kiss on her lips.

“Hey you.” Christen smiled back at Tobin as they separated.

Christen ran her hand through her daughter’s wet hair as she held her on her hip.“You’ve sure got a lot of energy for it being almost bedtime, cutie.”

“Mama said I didn’t have to go to bed yet!” The blonde haired girl grinned mischievously, wiggling her way out of Christen’s embrace and sliding down her legs to stand on the ground. Christen raised and eyebrow to Tobin, looking for confirmation of the little girl's statement.

Tobin shook her head, trying not laugh at the four year old's attempt. “Nice try but I said no such thing, my child.” Tobin bent down to meet her daughter at eye level. “Can you go pick out your jammies please?”

“Okay..” The girl sighed, looking up at Christen again. The little girl wagged her finger, asking for her mother to bend down so she could tell her something. Christen bent down again, wrapping an arm around her daughter, waiting for her to speak.

“We missed you today, mommy.” The girl whispered to Christen before turning to look at Tobin for confirmation of her statement. Tobin nodded at the girl, smiling at her sweet sentiment, like they had planned this out.

“I missed you too, baby.” Christen kissed her forehead. “If you put your jammies on, I’ll come tuck you in, okay?” Both women stood in silence for a moment, watching as their daughter walked back towards her bedroom down the hall, dropping her robe at the entrance of her bedroom, shaking her naked little booty animatedly. Both women laughed at the tiny girl. “Where does she come up with this stuff?” Tobin questioned aloud.

“Interesting bath time tonight?” Christen teased Tobin, whose shirt was still soaked down the front.

“Slightly. She thought it would be funny to spray me with her whale.” Tobin laughed at the events of a few moments ago. “I swear that child is going to be a wild one.” Tobin smiled as she stepped towards Christen again, wrapping her arms around her waist, pulling her close.

Christen placed a longer kiss to Tobin’s lips before speaking again. “She just likes to keep us on our toes.”

“Well, it’s working.” Tobin hummed into Christen’s lips as they embraced for another moment.

“Go change and tuck her in, I kept dinner out for you, we can eat when you’re done.” Tobin instructed, kissing Christen’s cheek one more time before stepping away. Christen smiled as she headed down the hall towards her daughter’s bedroom to get her into bed for the night. After a long day of work, all she cared about was coming home to her perfect little family.

 

Four years ago, Tobin and Christen had retired from soccer after one final World Cup and Olympic cycle, both of which the USA had won. They had gotten engaged after two years together, and then were married a year later in a gorgeous ceremony in South California during the offseason.

Navigating married life while on the National Team and playing for different club teams was a challenge at times, but they made it work. Their relationship had always been so worth it for both of them. After winning a second consecutive World Cup, and Christen finally getting that elusive gold medal, there was nothing more for them to accomplish in their playing careers. They were both ready to move on and start a family together. They eventually sold that little house they shared in Manhattan Beach, and instead bought a bigger house, still on the beach, just up the highway a bit.

After a few months of being on the adoption waiting list, they finally got the call they had been waiting for. The couple adopted a baby girl first, Jaymes Tyler; Jayme for a nickname or Jay for short. She was named after Christen’s sister, and was everything they could have ever hoped for. Then two years later, after waiting in unknown limbo again, they adopted a baby boy, Joshua Jeffrey, named after Tobin’s brother. Their little family feeling as complete as possible.

After the kids got out of the baby stage, Christen took a full-time job with Grassroots Soccer Organization, becoming a member of their business development team for their newest West Coast office in Los Angeles. The organization was growing and Christen thought it was a perfect opportunity to change gears, while still helping to grow the sport she loved and stay involved in important causes.

She also was doing Fox Soccer broadcasts and studio work part-time. She was currently part of their in-studio Champions League soccer coverage as well as working National Team games when Fox had the game rights. She was busy, to say the least.

Tobin stayed home with the kids for most of the year, but had a job coaching high school soccer during the Fall at a local high school in Manhattan Beach. She also ran various soccer camps throughout the year, and would pop in on National Team trainings from time to time.

Their schedules worked out perfectly to be able to avoid having to put their children in daycare. This had become their life now, marriage and children and everything they had ever talked or dreamed about, it was all happening just as they had hoped. It was a pretty common thing now for them to be exhausted by the end of the night though.

 

Christen changed out of her dress from work, into a pair of comfy sweats and one of Tobin’s t-shirts, foregoing a bra in the name of comfort, before she made her way into their daughter’s bedroom. Christen climbed into bed with Jaymes, asking the child about her day, before she read a story aloud and rubbed her back for a bit, waiting for the little girl to fall asleep. Once Christen was sure she was out, she leaned down and kissed the child’s head and slipped out of the room quietly.

Across the hall, Christen slowly opened the door to Joshua’s room, padding across the carpet softly to check on her son. He was sleeping sideways on his new big boy bed. Christen laughed and pulled his covers back onto his little body, before bending over and kissing his dark curly hair quickly. “I love you, buddy” she whispered to the sleeping boy, before exiting the room again.

Christen found Tobin in the kitchen, pouring two glasses of wine as their dinner was reheating on the stove. “Please tell me one of those is for me.”

“Nope, both mine.” Tobin teased her wife. “Would you like a glass as well?”

Christen didn’t respond, just closed the space between them for a long hug. “Hi baby.” She whispered into Tobin’s neck.  

Tobin pulled her in a little tighter, running her hands up and down Christen’s back. “Hi beautiful.” They stayed silently embracing for another moment, until dinner was warm again.

“Wanna eat? I’m starving.” Tobin suggested.

“Yes, please.” Christen responded, moving towards the table. “You didn’t have to wait for me, you could have eaten when the kids did.”

“Nah, you know it’s a full time job trying to get them to not get this spaghetti sauce everywhere.” Tobin smiled, thinking of her two messy kids. “Plus, I like eating dinner with you.”

The couple sat down and ate dinner and laughed about the day’s crazy antics with the kids. Tobin told Christen how Josh asked to FaceTime with Auntie Perry and then walked around the house saying _I love Pewry_ for two hours after that, no matter what Tobin asked him.

“He’s such a sweet boy.” Christen grinned, thinking of her baby boy.

“He gets that from you.” Tobin agreed with Christen’s statement.

They had finished their food and were still enjoying their wine at the table. Christen had her legs outstretched, up on Tobin’s lap. Tobin was massaging Christen’s calf muscles that were sore from standing and walking in heels all day.

“So, long day?” Tobin questioned, using her strong hands to work on Christen’s legs.

Christen had spent the morning at her office before rushing over to the Fox lot to shoot some upcoming segments for this round of Champions League games.

“Yea, it was. Filming days are always the most exhausting.” Christen let her eyes close a little, grateful for Tobin’s hands at the moment.

Tobin nodded, staying silent and continuing the massage, waiting for Christen to continue.

“So, you know how Champions League Final is in Madrid this Spring? They want me to go and anchor from there.” Christen said after a moment, thinking about the meeting she had with the Fox Studio bosses earlier today.

“Spain would be cool. That’s a huge opportunity for you, baby.” Tobin was being encouraging.

“Yea it would be. I was thinking about it on my drive home, maybe we could all go..” Christen opened her eyes again to gauge Tobin’s reaction.

Tobin was thinking it over silently, nodding along to Christen’s words. “Babe, whatever you want to do, we’ll make it work.” Tobin agreed after a moment. They had traveled with the kids some already, not nearly as much traveling as they did when they were still playing soccer, but enough that they knew it could work.

After another minute, Tobin got up and cleared the table, telling Christen to go chill on the couch while she cleaned up the kitchen. Christen was going to protest, but a yawn stopped her words, so Tobin just spun her around and sent her towards the living room. When Tobin had finished putting the leftovers away and loading the dishwasher, she joined her wife on the couch, Christen opening her arms and pulling Tobin down into her.

“Thank you for dinner, hunny.” Christen kissed Tobin on the lips. “You’re too go to me.”

Tobin smiled as she pulled back slightly from Christen. “Chris, you deserve it. You work hard. It’s my job to take care of you.”

 

Truth be told, Tobin loved staying home with their kids most days. She loved seeing them grow and change and be their goofy little selves. Some days were harder than others and she would need Christen to take over as soon as she walked through the door, but most of the time, Tobin was happy and content and in love with every part of this life they had built together.

 

Tobin leaned down to capture Christen’s lips with her own, moving so she was positioned on top of her wife. Christen responded immediately, deepening the kiss, suddenly less tired than she had been a moment before.

Tobin’s hands started to roam under Christen’s t-shirt, finding their way up towards Christen’s chest. Tobin was glad Christen decided to skip the bra, allowing her full access to her breasts immediately. Tobin massaged them lightly, kissing Christen a little deeper.

Tobin was just about to slide the shirt up and over Christen’s head when they heard a bedroom door creak open slightly. Pausing, Tobin pulled away from Christen’s lips and lifted her head to look over the end of the couch; towards where the noise had come from. Tobin let out a soft laugh and sat up so Christen could fix her shirt. Just as they suspected, Joshua came walking slowly into the living, peaking his tiny head around the corner to where his mothers were now sitting on the couch.

“Mommy?” The little boy rubbed his eyes slowly with one hand, carrying his blanket in the other.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Christen smiled at her little man. Getting up and walking towards him, before scooping him up into her arms.

“You didn’t say night night.” Joshua said as he leaned on Christen’s shoulder.

“I did baby, you were just asleep.” Christen hugged him tight and sat back down on the couch next to Tobin. Both of the kids always wanted their mothers to say goodnight if they got home late, so they weren’t surprised to see the boy wander out of his room.

Josh lifted his head off of Christen’s shoulder to look over at Tobin, smiling at both of them slightly.

“Hi buddy.” Tobin smiled at him, rubbing his back as he clung to Christen. They let him stay up for a bit, all cuddling together on the couch, just enjoying the closeness.

“Should we tuck you back in?” Christen asked as Joshua’s eyes got heavy again. The two year old didn’t protest, letting Christen stand up and carry him back to his bedroom.

Christen laid him back down and secured his blanky next to him, before pulling the comforter up and tucking him in a like a mummy. Josh giggled a little as Christen made sure the blanket was tucked tight around his legs and feet and arms, a little game they always liked to play.

“I love you, JJ.” Christen whispered into his hair, kissing her son lovingly.

“Love you mommy.” He said quietly. She knelt next to his tiny bed for another minute, stroking his curly hair as he fell asleep again, before she shut the door and went back to where Tobin was laying on the couch.

Tobin smiled a tired smile when Christen came back into view, her eyes had almost closed while her wife was out of the room. “Can we go to bed, babe?” Christen asked, standing in front of Tobin.

Tobin’s eyebrows raised slightly at Christen’s request. “Hmm, can I still take your clothes off of you?”

“I think we can probably make that happen.” Christen laughed.

It had become a fairly common thing to be interrupted by one or both of their kids whenever things got hot and heavy these days, so it didn’t take much for them to fall right back into the mood when they got the kids settled again. It was a running joke that there was no off-switch with their sex life, just a pause button for when it was convenient. Somehow, they usually managed to find time to get the job done.

Christen reached her hand out to her wife, silently inviting Tobin off of the couch. Tobin happily obliged, standing up and wrapping her arms around Christen from behind as they slowly walked towards their bedroom.

The couple got ready for bed, brushing their teeth next to each other in their bathroom, playfully bumping into each other every few moments, flirting like they had just started dating. When they were done, Tobin’s hands found Christen’s hips as she backed her out of the bathroom and towards their bed, undressing her slowly as she had wished.  They fell into bed naturally and made love for the millionth time, always so in-tuned with each other.

When they finished, and were basking in their post-orgasm bliss, Christen looked at the clock on the nightstand, doing the math in her head. “If we fall asleep right now, we can get five hours and approximately 35 minutes of sleep before the kids are crawling in and waking us up.” Christen smiled and rolled over onto Tobin again, finding her permanent spot in Tobin’s neck.

“You don’t think they’ll let us sleep in tomorrow?” Tobin questioned sarcastically, hand finding Christen’s ass as she pulled her in closer so their bodies were pressed together everywhere.

“I hate to break it to you, but there is not a chance.” Christen laughed quietly, before placing a kiss to Tobin’s neck.

“Well, just another day in paradise then.” Tobin yawned. “Night, baby. I love you.”

“Love you.” Christen hummed, her breathing evening out as she fell asleep almost immediately.


	2. Just another day in paradise

Christen’s eyes slowly opened, waking on her own for the first time in longer than she could remember, without an alarm or child being the cause. She could feel Tobin’s body still wrapped around hers from behind, breathing softly into the back of her neck. She glanced up at the clock on the nightstand, reading it twice to make sure. _7:12 am. This means trouble_ , Christen realized immediately. She quickly leaned up on her elbow, trying to listen for either of her children making noise throughout the house, but couldn’t hear anything other than silence.  
  
There was no way that her four year old and two year old had slept past 7 am, yet here she was, still in bed with Tobin sleeping next to her, no kids in sight. Christen peeled herself out of Tobin’s embrace and threw her t-shirt and sweats back on that Tobin had discarded before bed, slowly opening their bedroom door to go investigate where and what their children were up to.  
  
Christen could hear the muffled sound of cartoons coming from the tv in the living room. She quietly made her way down the hall and came to a stop at the edge of the living room, taking in the situation before her. Jaymes had pulled her pink princess comforter off of her bed and drug it out into the living. Her and Joshua were laying on it, wrapped up together and using a teddy bear as a pillow, watching an episode of _Max and Ruby_ on the flat screen tv. Josh had his blanky pinned up against his face, sucking his thumb as he usually did when he was tired.  
  
Christen’s heart softened into a pile of mush at her children. She stood behind them for a little bit, just watching. Jaymes would giggle every few moments, clearly amused by what was happening on the screen. Josh would usually giggle when Jaymes did, pretending to understand what was funny. After a couple minutes, she walked towards where they were laying. Jaymes realized that Christen had entered the room, greeting her with a big smile.  
  
“Hi Mommy!” The child said animatedly. Christen sat down next to them, scooting close to her kids.  
  
“Good morning my loves.” Christen smiled. “I see you got the tv working.”  
  
Jaymes looked up at her mom with slightly guilty eyes. They weren’t supposed to watch tv without asking. “You and mama were still sleeping.” Jaymes offered up to her mother in explanation, moving to cover Christen’s legs with part of her princess comforter.  
  
“It’s okay, sweetie. Thank you for being quiet and looking after your brother.” Christen reassured her daughter. Christen added tv operation to her mental list of things her too-smart of a daughter could already do.  
  
They laid there for another twenty minutes, before Tobin got up and joined them in the living room. She sat down next to Josh on the other side of the blanket. Tobin looked at Christen, silently asking the question of who’s idea this was. Christen just shrugged her shoulders with a smile, before leaning back against a pillow. All of them settling in for another episode, relaxing as a family to start their Saturday morning.  
  
By the time the second episode had ended, Josh was up and climbing all over Tobin, mumbling random phrases from the show.  
  
“Can we have Cheerios?” Jaymes asked, standing up in front of the tv.  
  
“Cheerios again?” Tobin whined, noting her daughter's favorite food. “Jay, you’re going to turn into a Cheerio.” Tobin grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.  
  
Jaymes giggled, escaping from Tobin’s arms and running to the kitchen behind Christen. “Hop up on your chair and I’ll pour you some.” Christen said.   
  
Tobin grabbed Josh and put him in his booster seat that was strapped to one of the chairs in the dining room. The kids had insisted on having regular seats at the table, never willing to trade their spots.  
  
Christen poured some cereal into a bowl with milk for Jaymes and just laid some dry Cheerios out on the table for Josh. Josh ate a couple pieces, and then proceeded to smash the rest with his fist into the table, while he giggled.  
  
“Joshy, you have issues.” Jaymes said to her little brother, watching him smash the cereal into dust particles.  
  
Tobin let out a belly laugh, trying to stifle it so the kids wouldn’t hear and feel encouraged. _Honestly, where does this child learn this stuff?_ She thought to herself, listening as Christen spoke up.  
  
“Jayme, please don’t say that to your brother.” Christen turned to look at the little boy. “Josh, please don’t do that. Do you want something else to eat?”  
  
“Nana!” Josh screamed out.  
  
Tobin went to the counter and grabbed a banana, peeling it and cutting a few pieces off of it to give to Josh, before eating the rest of it.  
  
“I have ishhues.” Josh repeated his sister’s words as he stuffed a bite of banana into his mouth.  
  
Christen turned around, quickly grabbing Tobin into a hug and laughing into her shoulder so the kids wouldn’t see after she just scolded them. “Our children are crazy.” She said between quiet laughs. Tobin laughed with her, agreeing and loving it.  
  
“Alright little monsters, do you think we should go see Auntie Tyler and Uncle Will today?” Tobin suggested as they finished breakfast. Christen and her had talked about heading over to see their family this weekend. The older couple was watching Morena and Khaleesi, and the kids loved playing with the dogs.  
  
“Yes, yes, yes. Mama please!” Jaymes squealed excitedly. “Tyler is my best friend!”  
  
“You don’t say?” Tobin questioned her daughter in a joking manner.  
  
Jaymes and Tyler had always been really close, and Jaymes loved talking about her any chance she got. Tobin thought it was fun to act surprised every time her daughter mentioned her sister-in-law.  
  
Christen texted Tyler quickly, making sure it was okay to drop by. Not even a minute later, Tyler’s response came through.  
  
**YES, I want to see my babies.**  
  
And then a few minutes after that, Tyler texted again.  
  
**How about they stay tonight, you and Tobs can go out and have a date night? Ow ow.** With a wink emoji trialing the sentence.  
  
Christen read the text and then showed it to Tobin, waiting to see what she thought.  
  
“A date night? Yes please.” Tobin responded. They would gladly take a night to themselves whenever possible. Not that they didn’t love every day with their kids, but free evenings were few and far between.  
  
“Ohh great, now I’ve gotta think of somewhere to take you.” Christen teased back to Tobin.  
  
“Well, you are my sugar mama.” Tobin winked, moving closer to Christen. “And if you play your cards right, you might just get laid tonight.” Tobin had gotten close enough to whisper into Christen ear, then dipped her head to kiss her neck quickly.  
  
Christen watched as the kids jumped down from their chairs at the table, running towards their bedrooms, before leaning back into Tobin, her green eyes turning a little darker. “Oh I can guarantee you that I will.” She smiled wickedly.  
  
_“Jay, you guys are sleeping at Tyler’s tonight.”_ Christen announced out loud as she walked away from Tobin towards their daughter's room.  
  
A barely audible _“YES!”_ was all Tobin could hear her daughter reply from down the hall.

  
Tobin and Christen took turns showering while also taking turns getting the kids ready. Packing up for an overnight trip was quite a job in itself. Jaymes begged Christen to braid her hair, which took an extra twenty minutes, so Tobin and Josh kicked a small soccer ball around the living room while waiting for the other two to finish.  
  
Two hours later, the SUV was loaded up, and Tobin pulled out of the driveway towards Tyler and Will’s house. As they drove along, Josh fell asleep in his car seat and Jaymes rambled on about different topics, most of the time not even directing her words at anyone in particular.  
  
"Mommy, do you know why that tree isn't growing?" Jaymes pointed out the window from her carseat behind Christen. The little girl had been taking preschool classes two days a week this year and was as talkative and full of knowledge as ever.  
  
“No, why baby?” Christen asked, waiting to hear her daughter's answer.  
  
"Cause it has no water." Jaymes said confidently. Something she had just learned in school.  
  
“That’s right, monkey.” Christen turned around to face her daughter, giving her a smile. “We need some rain soon, don’t we?”  
  
The little girl just nodded, looking pleased that she remembered this small fact.  
  
Christen continued on, asking another question. "Do you know what makes us grow?"  
  
Jaymes went silent, her face clearly displaying her deep thought on the subject. Christen turned to look at Tobin while they waited for their daughter to form an answer.  
  
After a few beats, the blonde haired girl spoke up. “Birthdays!”  
  
Tobin and Christen both laughed at their daughter’s answer, always entertained by the little kid’s mind.  
  
The family got to Tyler’s and unloaded the car. Tobin and Christen stayed for about an hour, so Christen could get her fill of the dogs while catching up with her sister and brother-in-law as the kids played in the backyard.  
  
“Ready to go, babe?” Tobin questioned to her wife after a while.  
  
“Let’s do it.” Christen agreed, before calling to their kids. “Jay, we’re gonna head out. Be good and take care of your brother, okay?”  
  
Jaymes came running over to Christen to give her a hug and a kiss. “Bye mommy.” She said, before running away again immediately.  
  
“Love you, baby girl.” Christen said as the four year old went back to playing with Morena.  
  
Christen then walked to where Josh had been sitting in the grass with his Tonka truck and bent down to pick him up. “Bye, buddy. Love you.”  
  
Tobin said goodbye to Jaymes too and made her way to where Josh and Christen were standing. Christen handed her little boy off to Tobin for a goodbye.  
  
“See ya later, JJ.” Tobin kissed his cheek.  
  
"See ya later crocodile" Josh said in his little voice.  
  
Tobin laughed “It’s alligator, buddy.”  
  
Joshua looked up confused “What’s a al-gator?”  
  
“Never mind. I love you.” Tobin said, setting the little boy back down and turning back towards Christen to head out.  
  
The couple made their way out of Tyler and Will’s house, climbing in the car to leave.  
  
“So, where to, my lady?” Tobin looked over at Christen. They didn’t have a plan, not even expecting to have a free day until this morning.  
  
“Hmm. I don’t know.” Christen said, thinking quietly as they sat in the driveway. “What do you wanna do?”  
  
Tobin just shrugged, not having an answer.  
  
“Should we just drive up the coast and see what we find?” Christen suggested.  
  
“Okay.. sure.” Tobin agreed.  
  
Christen just looked at Tobin, not feeling very inspired by their idea at the moment. “Baby, have we become bad at dating?”  
  
Tobin laughed a little at the almost sad look on Christen’s face. “No, definitely not. We got this, babe.” She said, trying to sound optimistic as she put the car in drive and pulled onto the road.  
  
The couple ended up taking a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. Tyler’s neighborhood wasn’t far from where the highway ran along the coast, so they took the route and headed North. It was a perfect day for a drive. The Los Angeles sun was shining without a cloud in the sky, making the coastline drive picturesque.  
  
They ended up just north of Malibu. Christen did some Googling as Tobin drove, and found a place called the Malibu Wine Estate. It was a big vineyard featuring hiking paths, organic gardens and a wine tasting room, all that overlooked the Santa Monica Mountains. It was an ideal way to spend a Saturday afternoon without kids.  
  
The couple spent a couple hours hiking through the estate, holding hands while walking down rows of the vineyard, and strolling through the gardens that were full of seasonal flowers and produce; just enjoying the beautiful weather and each other's company.  As the sun was starting to set and they had seen most of the property, they made their way into the wine tasting room and purchased a couple bottles of wine to take home.  
  
They decided to head back towards the city, Tobin suggesting Chinese take-out and a bottle of wine on the couch at home. Nothing sounded more perfect to Christen to end the night.  
  
“Do you want anything else?” Christen asked, getting up from the couch where they had settled while they ate dinner. They had cleaned their plates and finished their first glass of wine already.  
  
“No thanks, I’m stuffed. It was good though, I like that place.” Tobin responded. Christen took their plates and put them on the counter, she’d deal with them later. Grabbing the open bottle of wine, she made her way back to the couch to sit next to Tobin again. Tobin poured them another glass and cuddled up next to Christen as they watched some random movie they found on tv.  
  
When the movie was over, Tobin got up and put their wine glasses in the sink. Christen followed Tobin into the kitchen and when it was cleaned up, she wrapped her arms around Tobin’s waist, giving her a couple kisses.  
  
“Baby, wanna take a bath?” Christen asked between kisses.  
  
“Absolutely.” Tobin agreed immediately, letting Christen pull her towards their bedroom.  
  
They had a Jacuzzi tub that didn’t get used nearly enough, at least by them. Tobin had to fish out their kid's toys while Christen grabbed the bubble bath and started to run the water. When the bath was full of hot water and suds, they stripped off their clothes and climbed in. Christen settling between Tobin’s legs, leaning her back into Tobin’s chest. Tobin wrapped her arms around her wife’s stomach, rubbing small circles before letting her hands travel elsewhere. They relaxed for a while, enjoying the warmth of the water and the peaceful silence.   
  
“Today turned out to be a great day.” Christen quietly mentioned after a bit, as Tobin’s hands roamed over her stomach and chest.  
  
“See, I told you we still had it.” Tobin hummed into Christen’s shoulder. She placed a few kisses to that spot, before her lips worked their way closer to Christen’s neck. Christen was getting turned on, which was obviously Tobin’s goal. She let Tobin’s hands massage her breasts lightly for a moment, before she had wanted more. Turning around, Christen straddled Tobin, face to face, letting her thighs fall on both sides of Tobin’s legs. The movement of Christen’s body had caused some of the water to splash up over the side of the tub and onto the floor. Both women laughed, realizing they probably filled the tub a little too full.  
  
Not to be distracted for long, Tobin grinned up at her wife, leaning forward to kiss her deeply. Christen’s hands found Tobin’s shoulders for a moment, steadying herself as they kissed. She then traced her hands down Tobin’s chest.  
  
“Tobin.” Christen said breathlessly into Tobin’s lips.  
  
“Yea, baby?”  
  
“I love you.” Christen responded, pulling back to look at Tobin momentarily.  
  
“I love you more.” Tobin smiled, and then pulled Christen back in again.  
  
Tobin hands went back to work, her left hand moving down Christen’s stomach to cup her center gently. Christen moaned slightly at the initial contact, before rocking her hips against Tobin’s hand once, trying to create a little friction.  
  
One motion of Christen’s body sent more water tumbling over the side of the tub, splashing onto the floor again. Christen pulled back and they both laughed again.  
  
“You’d think with all the baths we run for our kids these days, we’d be a little better with the water level.” Christen grinned.  
  
“I was definitely distracted by your perfect body.” Tobin admitted as Christen hugged her tight, pressing their chests together for a moment.  
  
“We better take this to the bed.” Christen replied into Tobin’s ear.  
  
Tobin nodded quickly, waiting for Christen to stand up and step out of the tub, and then getting up to follow her lead. Tobin swung her leg over the edge of the tub and her foot came down on Josh’s yellow rubber ducky, sending out a loud squeaking noise that filled the bathroom. They both lost it at that, doubling over in laughter as Christen threw Tobin a towel to dry off.  
  
“We are such parents.” Tobin said through another laugh, trying to regain her composure.  
  
“We are. But I kind of love it.” Christen agreed. She had dried off and thrown her towel over the towel rack, reaching for Tobin’s hand. “Come on, hot stuff. I want to do things to you.” she said, pulling Tobin towards the bed. Tobin let her towel fall to the bathroom floor and linked their fingers together instantly.  
  
When they reached the edge of the bed, Christen backed Tobin up so her calves hit the mattress, before lightly pushing her down on the bed. Christen climbed onto Tobin as she kissed her way down to her chest, licking and nipping as she went.  
  
Tobin let out a moan when Christen took a nipple into her mouth, rolling Tobin’s other nipple between her fingers, a little roughly.  
  
Christen’s right hand then released Tobin’s nipple and started to slide south, down over Tobin’s abs slowly, before finding Tobin’s center. Christen palmed her firmly, applying pressure.  
  
“Fuck.” Tobin moaned out, loving the way Christen’s hands and lips felt on her.  
  
Christen placed one last kiss to Tobin’s chest before moving down to settle in between Tobin’s legs. She then inserted two fingers into Tobin, pumping them in and out slowly. She started to run her tongue over Tobin’s clit. It didn’t take long before Tobin was panting, so close to the edge.  
  
Christen ran her tongue down through Tobin’s wetness, before removing her fingers and replacing them with her tongue inside of Tobin immediately.  
  
A few swirls of Christen’s tongue was all Tobin needed, moaning loudly through her release, her grip on Christen’s shoulder becoming almost too much.  
  
“Oh my god. Chris, baby.” Tobin cried out as Christen helped her ride out her orgasm.  
  
Christen kissed Tobin’s thighs and then made her way back up her body, so she could look at her wife face to face. Tobin was laying in silence, her breaths slowing finally.  
  
“How does that get better and better every time?” Tobin husked out, her voice still thick.  
  
Christen just smiled and kissed Tobin’s forehead lovingly.  
  
When Tobin had regained her senses, she flipped Christen onto her back to take her turn. Tobin took her time using her strong hands and skillful tongue, patiently working Christen over until she was coming wildly at Tobin’s mercy.  
  
After a while, they were both worn out and happy. Tobin dropped her weight onto Christen and relaxed, melting into her wife’s naked body, eyes heavy with blissful sleepiness.  
  
“I wonder if the kids had a good day?” Christen spoke softly as Tobin was tracing a finger up and down Christen’s side soothingly.  
  
“You know they did. I’m sure Tyler and Will spoiled them like usual.” Tobin smiled.  
  
“Probably.” Christen agreed. “I kinda miss them.”  
  
“I know, me too.”Tobin just hummed. Of course they did.  
  
“Two days in a row of sleeping in, how will we ever get back to early wake-ups?” Christen asked after a moment.  
  
Tobin lifted her head to look at Christen. “Oh by the way, I guess Jay knows how to work the tv?” Christen asked, thinking back to this morning’s wake up.  
  
Tobin wasn’t surprised. “She’s already too smart for us.” Shaking her head a little, before laying it back down on Christen’s shoulder.  
  
Silence fell over them, both women falling asleep quickly.  
  
The next morning, Tyler dropped the kids off after breakfast. Tobin and Christen got to hear about all the exciting things they did while spending the night with their aunt and uncle. Jaymes rambled on about the homemade playdough they made, and the pizza they ordered and how they watched _Frozen_ twice.  
  
“I don’t even think you missed us!” Tobin feigned hurt to her daughter after listening to the little girl talk about how much fun she had.  
  
“Oh Mama, yes we did!” Jaymes giggled, running to Tobin to give her a hug.  
  
“You did? Well good.” Tobin picked her daughter up and fell onto the couch. “We missed you too, monkey.”  
  
“I like visiting them but I like living with you and Mommy.” Jaymes said seriously. “I am glad I get to live with you forever.”  
  
“Forever?” Christen laughed, picking up Josh and moving so all four of them were sitting on the couch together. “Good thing you're our favorite daughter then.”  
  
“What about Joshy?” Jaymes asked, always looking out for her little brother.  
  
“Yep, he’s our favorite son.” Tobin confirmed. Tobin and Christen exchanged a glance at each other, silently communicating about how perfect their family was. They spent the rest of the day their favorite way, all four of them hanging out together as a happy little family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? Bad? Indifferent? I'm glad ya'll are reading :)


	3. Without you god knows what i'd do

“Jaymes Tyler. Come on, we need to go.” Tobin yelled down the hallway towards her daughter’s bedroom. They were running late already, and Jaymes’ preschool class started in fifteen minutes.

“I want my Elsa dress!” Jaymes yelled back from her room. Tobin sighed, standing up from the bench by the garage door, where she had just put Josh’s shoes on him, and walked to her daughter’s bedroom.

“Jay, it’s dirty. You spilled juice on it yesterday, remember?” Tobin responded to the child. “What’s wrong with your Elsa shirt?” Which she was currently wearing.

“It’s not as pretty.” Jaymes said, her eyes starting to tear up.

It had been a rough Monday morning for the family. Christen had to be up early, and left for work before 6:00 am, not even waking anyone as she snuck out of the house before the sun had come up. Tobin was left to get the kids ready so Jaymes could get to school by 9:00. The little girl must not have slept well because she was having a meltdown about everything.

First, Tobin gave her Cheerios in the wrong bowl. And then she wanted the small spoon instead of the big spoon, even though they were actually the same size. It took Tobin three tries before she would even take a bite of her breakfast.

Now she was unhappy with her outfit for the day.

“You make everything look pretty.” Tobin insisted to her daughter. They didn’t have time to find a new outfit. “I’ll wash your dress today and you can wear it tomorrow, okay?”

Tobin was basically pleading. She was trying to avoid meltdown number three for the morning and they really did need to leave.  

“I’ll think about it. Don’t huff and puff.” Jaymes said back, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tobin laughed at her daughter’s wording. _Don’t huff and puff?_

“You can think about it on the way to school. We have to go.” Tobin reached out her hand, waiting for Jaymes to take it.

The tiny girl relented, grabbing her mom’s hand and walking towards the entryway to put her shoes on. Tobin bent down to help, but her daughter gave her a _don’t you dare_ look. So she stood back up and went out to the garage instead.

Tobin got Josh strapped into his car seat while Jaymes climbed in and did her own. Soon enough they were pulling out of the garage and heading to school. They made the short drive in record time, and Tobin dropped Jaymes off at her preschool classroom only a minute late.

Tobin let out another sigh when she said goodbye to her daughter, leaving her to her teacher’s mercy.

“Alright buddy. The morning is our oyster.” Tobin smiled as Josh grabbed her hand, exiting the school.

“Owster” Josh said back, looking up at Tobin. They made it back to Tobin’s SUV and she got him back into his car seat. They sat in the parking lot a moment, letting the car idle.

 **We need to buy a backup Elsa dress, stat.** Tobin sent a text to Christen.  

A moment later, Christen’s reply came through. **Ok. What happened?**

 **We didn’t wash it and Jay wanted to wear it. Meltdown.** Tobin filled Christen in on the morning.

 **Oh no, I’m sorry. I’m sure that was fun..** Christen responded again.

**She told me not to “huff and puff” about it, so I got a good laugh.**

**Also, good morning baby. I hope you have a wonderful day. :)** Tobin sent again, not wanting to stress Christen out.

Christen laughed at Tobin’s text, she was back on the Fox lot today shooting more segments for Champion’s League games that would air in the next couple of weeks. It was going to be another long day of filming.

**Morning. I love you. Wanna bring the kids by for lunch after Jay is done with school?**

Tobin grinned, happy with that idea. She told Christen they’d be there and put her phone away, pulling out of the school parking lot.

With nothing pressing to do for the morning, Tobin and Josh ran some errands, stocking up with food for the week and stopping at the library to drop off some books that they had finished. After they picked Jaymes up from school a couple hours later, they drove over to Studio City, where the Fox backlot was. When they parked and found the building Christen was filming in, they made their way inside, stopping at the reception desk.

“You three must be here for Christen!” The receptionist said cheerily. “She told me you were stopping by.”

“That’s us.” Tobin smiled back, waiting as the receptionist picked up a phone and called someone. A minute later, she was leading them back through a secured door, onto one of the sound stages being used for filming.

From a distance, Tobin spotted Christen, talking animatedly with some guy, who clearly worked there. Tobin watched as they approached, noting how flirty he was being with her wife. _Typical,_ she thought, internally rolling her eyes.  

“Mommy!” Joshua yelled out when he caught sight of her. Running across the set before Tobin could grab him.

Everyone laughed at the cute little curly haired boy, almost all of them audibly _Awww_ -ing at him.

“Hi buddy.” Christen said, picking up Josh and turning her attention to her family.

They spent a few minutes talking to everyone, Christen introducing Tobin and the kids to some of the crew. One of the camera men came walking across the set and Josh spotted him.

“Pirate!” Josh yelled out, pointing to the man. He had an eye patch on.

Christen laughed eyeing the man, who she knew just had eye surgery, which is why he was wearing a patch.

Before Josh could process it, the camera man let out a loud “ARRRR!” to the little boy, playing along and clearly not offended. Joshua laughed hard at that. Christen was grateful, offering her coworker an apologetic smile.

As they made their way around and finished saying hi to everyone, Tobin noted how Jaymes was being unusually quiet, hiding behind Tobin’s leg for most of the time. It was very unlike their outgoing daughter. Christen must have sensed it too, because as soon as they got in the car to head to the restaurant for lunch, Christen spoke up.

“Everything ok, Jayme?” Christen asked as she turned around from the passenger seat.

The little girl just nodded unconvincingly and looked down at her lap. Christen turned to look at Tobin, asking for any hint of what was wrong now. Tobin just shrugged.

When they got to the restaurant, Tobin grabbed Josh and took him inside to get a table while Christen opened Jaymes’ door, unbuckling her car seat slowly so she could talk to her daughter.

“What’s wrong, baby girl?” Christen asked, running a hand over her daughter’s hair. “Rough morning?”

Christen waited as her daughter sat there for a moment, looking up to her mom finally. She lifted her arms, asking for Christen to pick her up. When Christen got her out of her car seat, the little girl buried her head in Christen’s shoulder without saying anything. Christen just hugged her tight.

“I missed you Mommy.” Jaymes finally said after moment.

“I missed you too, baby.” Christen smiled.

“I don’t like when you’re gone in the morning.”

“Me either, monkey.” Christen’s throat clenched a little as she looked down to meet her daughter’s soft eyes.

“Whenever you wanna talk and I’m not home, ask Mama to call me, ok? We can FaceTime and I can see your cute little face.” Christen padded her fingertip on her daughter's nose, hoping for a smile.

Jaymes nodded and finally smiled. Christen kissed her head and hugged her tight again, before the two headed into the restaurant and found the booth where Tobin and Josh were sitting.

Christen tried not to feel guilty for working full time, but it was harder than usual today after Jaymes’ statement. She knew her daughter was just having an off morning, but sometimes it was hard not to regret being gone all day.

They took their time eating lunch, as they questioned Jaymes on what she learned in school today and occupied Josh with some crayons and a kids menu. When they were done, Tobin and the kids dropped Christen back off at work and said their goodbyes.

“Jaymes, I’ll be home past your bedtime tonight, but we can do something fun tomorrow okay?” Christen mentioned to her daughter before she got out of the car. “How about this afternoon, you and Mama pick something really special for us to do?”

Christen made sure not to schedule any meetings for the morning after she filmed late, and she knew she could rearrange some things and go to the office later in the day. Spending time with her daughter was important, so she didn’t even feel guilty about it.

Jaymes’ eyes lit up at Christen’s comments. “Okay!” She said excitedly.

Tobin leaned over to kiss Christen quickly before she hopped out of the car. “Thank you _._ ” She whispered as they parted, a quiet acknowledgement for Christen cheering their daughter up.

“I love you all.” Christen smiled, as she slid out of the front seat.

“Love Mommy!” Josh yelled out.

“Have a good afternoon, babe.” Tobin said before Christen shut the door. The three of them heading for home so Josh could have his afternoon nap.

When Christen got home that night, she walked into a mostly dark house. The kids were in bed already but she could tell there was a light on in their spare bedroom-turned-office. She made her way to the office and found Tobin sitting at the desk, creating training plans for an upcoming soccer camp she was running.

Tobin didn’t notice that she was home yet, so Christen stood in the doorway for a moment just watching Tobin work. “Hey you.” She spoke quietly after a minute.

Tobin looked up when Christen’s words caught her attention. “Hi.” She said softly, smiling as she leaned back in her chair with her eyes on Christen. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

Christen entered the room, walking towards where Tobin was sitting. “Looks like you’re hard at work.” She smiled lovingly.

Tobin pushed her chair back from the desk a little, making room so Christen could sit down on her lap.

Tobin angled her head up, giving Christen a kiss. “I thought of a couple new training drills I wanted to teach, so I thought I’d write them out while they were fresh in my mind.” Tobin replied.

Christen looked them over, impressed with Tobin’s brilliant soccer mind once again.

“How was the rest of the day?” Christen asked.

“It was good. Actually both kids ended up taking a nap when we got home.” Tobin mentioned. “I think Jay was just tired this morning. She colored for ten minutes and then just crashed on the living room floor.”

“Good, I’m glad she cheered up.” Christen smiled, leaning down to kiss Tobin again. Tobin parted her lips, taking Christen’s tongue into her mouth, relaxing into the kiss.

“Tobs, thank you for being such a good parent.” Christen kept her face close to Tobin’s as she spoke. “You do way more than your fair share for this family, and I know I don’t tell you that enough.”

“Babe, we both do our part.” Tobin hummed. “And there is nobody else I would want to be doing this with.”

Christen kissed her again.

“So, did our little monkey decide what she wanted to do tomorrow?”

“She said she wants to have breakfast and then she wants all of us to go play soccer.” Tobin responded.

Christen’s eyes narrowed a bit. “Jaymes said that?” She wondered.

“Yep.” Tobin shrugged.

Christen laughed. “Our princess-obsessed, dress up-loving daughter, wants to go play soccer tomorrow morning?” She asked skeptically.

“I know.. I asked her four times to make sure.” Tobin grinned.

“Huh.. Maybe there is hope for her yet.” Christen joked.

The little girl had never shown much interest in soccer or any sport really, despite being the daughter of two world class soccer players, as well as “honorary niece” to many other professional athletes. It just didn't seem to be her thing, so far. Tobin and Christen were both more than happy to let her do what she wanted.

“You and I should totally be on the same team and just crush them.” Tobin joked while laughing at her own thought.

Christen laughed out loud. “They totally wouldn’t know what hit them. She shook her head at their joke. “Parents of the year right here.”

“Keeps us sane.” Tobin said, linking her hand with Christen’s who was still sitting on her lap.

“Oh and Jayme was very specific about wanting cinnamon rolls for breakfast.” Tobin said as an afterthought. “I think she’s been thinking about them for a while, took her like half a second to come up with that.”

“Yum, that sounds good. I can run out and get them in the morning.” Christen said.

“Already taken care of. We went to the store again after their naps.” Tobin smiled. “I mean what better do I have to do than go to the grocery store multiple times a day?” Her voice a little sarcastic.

“You’re seriously the best.” Christen said, standing up from Tobin’s lap.“Will you come to bed?”

“Yea, give me a couple minutes to finish this and I’ll be right there.” Tobin tugged on Christen’s hand before she got too far away, pulling her back for one more kiss.

Christen made sure she was up before the kids the next morning. Tobin felt bad for always getting to sleep in later than her wife, so she got up too. They actually enjoyed having coffee together while the cinnamon rolls baked. The kids got up and they all sat around the table and ate together as a family.

After breakfast, Christen got the kids dressed while Tobin grabbed some soccer stuff and loaded up the car. They drove to a little field about a mile from their house. Tobin set up some orange cones for goals and got ready to play.

“No nutmegging our kids.” Christen said she as leaned in to kiss Tobin quickly before they started.

“I’ll try not to, but I can’t guarantee that anyone is safe.” Tobin laughed, immediately attempting to kick the ball through Christen’s legs.

“You’re so predictable.” Christen laughed, knowing Tobin’s move and stopping it instantly.

“Alright Monkey, who’s team do you wanna be on?” Tobin asked Jaymes.

“Mommy’s!” She yelled out, running to stand next to Christen.

“Great choice, girly.” Christen high fived her daughter.

The game was fairly comical. Joshua lasted all of 2 minutes, before his little mind got sidetracked and he just sat down on the edge of their miniature field and started to pull at the grass blades.

Jaymes tried to hang in there a little longer, it was her idea after all. So Tobin was mostly the goalkeeper and Christen would just pass it to Jaymes and watch her kick it. Sometimes it went towards the goal, and sometimes it didn’t really move at all.

Tobin also got sidetracked and started to attempt some ridiculous tricks. Jaymes thought it was hilarious when Tobin rainbowed the ball over her head, and then made her do it 10 more times in a row, until it stopped being funny.

By the end of it, both kids were just sitting next to each other playing an imaginary game of “grass”, whatever that was, and Tobin and Christen were passing back and forth, getting farther and farther away from each other to see how accurate they still were with their passing.

“Damn, babe. I think we need to make a comeback.” Tobin yelled to Christen across the field.  

“Another World Cup?” Christen asked. “What do you think, Jay?”

“Go Mommy!” She just yelled back.

Christen was done and getting the kids packed up again when Tobin came running over with a ball at her feet, finally sneaking a nutmeg in between her wife’s legs. Christen tried to react, but didn’t catch it in time. Tobin laughed a mocking tone and tried to run away, but Christen sprinted after her, playfully tackling her down into the grass. Both kids came running over and piled on their mothers all at once.  Through a pile of laughter, Tobin and Christen locked eyes, and without a doubt, both were thinking the same thing. _Our little family is perfect._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tobin is a little shit sometimes and it's super fun to write. Let me know if you like where this is heading. Is it heading anywhere..? Who even knows.


	4. I think I've got it made

Tobin bobbed in the water on her surfboard, waiting for a rideable swell to come through. Her board was lined up next to Kelley’s, both of them sitting in silence about a hundred yards out from shore. They were taking in the warm early morning sun and listening to the sounds of nature around them, neither one wanting to break the peacefulness. The two friends were attempting to surf, but the waves were almost non-existent this morning.  
  
“Well, I think today might be a bust.” Kelley looked over at Tobin after another long spell of silence. They had each made a couple of runs, but it wasn’t as thrilling as usual.  
  
“Kinda seems like it.” Tobin nodded in agreement.  
  
“Still, it feels good to be out here.” Kelley replied. “I miss it when I’m gone.”  
  
Kelley lived in Southern California, but was still busy working with the National Team. She had become somewhat of an assistant fitness coach, learning from Dawn with the idea that she would one day take over the position herself.  
  
“I know, I wish you could be here more.” Tobin agreed, before they fell silent again.  
  
Tobin could see her house from the water. It was positioned right across the road from the beach, front windows facing the blue Pacific Ocean. She had snuck out of bed as the sun was coming up, wanting to get some time in the water with Kelley before Christen and the kids got up.  
  
Kelley could tell that is where Tobin was looking. “You think they’re up yet?”  
  
“I’m sure they are. It’s gotta be about 9 by now, right?” Tobin answered, looking at the sun that was making it’s way higher into the sky.  
  
“Yea, at least.” Kelley agreed. She looked over at Tobin, watching her for another moment, knowing Tobin wanted to go in and say good morning to her family, but wouldn’t ask Kelley to cut their surf session short.  
  
Kelley smiled at that thought, before giving in. “Let’s go get them, I miss my favorite kids.”  
  
Tobin grinned, silently thankful that Kelley gets it. “You know they’ll be excited to see you. Chris said she’d tell them you were here when they got up.”  
  
“Duh, they love me!” Kelley laughed and then splashed Tobin, laying down to paddle back to shore.

As the friends made their way up Tobin’s driveway, Kelley handed her surfboard off to Tobin. “Take this, I gotta get the presents outta the car.”  
  
“Kel, you don’t need to bring them presents every time you come. They are spoiled enough.” Tobin groaned.  
  
“Ah, yes I do. How do you think I keep being their favorite?” Kelley smiled, turning to walk away from Tobin.  
  
Tobin leaned the surfboards against the wall of the garage and grabbed a towel to dry the rest of the dripping water off of her wetsuit. She set another towel out for Kelley and opened the door to step inside. Tobin immediately saw Christen sitting in the living room, reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee.  
  
Christen smiled when she saw her wife. “You’re back early.”  
  
“Yea, not great conditions this morning.” Tobin shrugged, peeling her wetsuit halfway off, letting it hang at her hips as she made her way towards Christen.  
  
Christen sat up a little straighter as Tobin bent down, kissing her. “Morning beautiful.” Tobin smiled into the kiss.  
  
Christen pulled back slightly, grabbing at the wetsuit on Tobin’s hips, bringing her in a little closer. “Have I told you how sexy you look in this?” Christen flitted her eyes up Tobin’s body, the top half now only guarded by a bikini top, before giving Tobin a sensual smile. “My wife is a babe.”  
  
Tobin hummed, leaning back down to kiss Christen again, a little deeper this time. Just then, Kelley swung the garage door open with a bag in her arms.  
  
“Seriously. Ew.” Kelley teased, catching her two friends in the middle of their kiss.  
  
Tobin stood back up and stepped back from Christen a little.  
  
Kelley kicked her flip flops off and walked into the living room. She had changed out of her wetsuit in the garage, now sporting an old t-shirt and shorts, wet hair tied in a bun on top of her head. “Where my babies at?” She questioned, not seeing the kids anywhere.  
  
“They’re playing house in Josh’s room.” Christen motioned down the hall.  
  
Kelley started down the hall towards the kids and stopped suddenly. “Oh yea, morning Chris!”  
  
Christen laughed a little at her crazy friend. “Hi, Kel.”  
  
Tobin and Christen watched as Kelley took off down the hall again. As Kelley reached the little boy’s bed room, she poked her head around the door, animatedly announcing her arrival to Jaymes and Joshua.  
  
“Auntie Kelley!” Jaymes jumped up. “We were waiting for you! Mommy said you were coming over.”  
  
“Hi munchkins!” Kelley said excitedly, wrapping both kids into a hug. “What are you playing?”  
  
“House!” Josh said excitedly.  
  
“Yea, I’m the mom and Joshy is the kid.” Jaymes added in. “He is doing his homework right now.”  
  
Kelley laughed as she noticed Josh was scribbling on a white piece of paper with different colored crayons.  
  
“Hey, guess what?” Kelley asked, changing the subject. “I brought presents!”  
  
Both kids eyes lit up. Josh got up quickly from the floor. “Where?” The little boy asked.  
  
“They’re out in the living room, let's go check em out.” Kelley replied, moving out of the kids way as they took off down the hallway. The game of house immediately forgotten.  
  
Tobin spotted her kids running down the hall. “Hey dude.” She said to Josh as he ran past her without saying anything.  
  
Jaymes tried to get past as well, but Tobin scooped her up. “Hello!” She said, lifting her daughter over her shoulder. “What am I, chopped liver?”  
  
“Mama!” Jaymes whined a little, trying to shake free. “Can you put me down?”  
  
“Can I please have a hug?” Tobin pretended to be hurt by her children’s lack of interest in her this morning.  
  
Jaymes smiled, wrapping her tiny arms around Tobin’s neck and squeezing as tight as she could. “Hi Mama.”  
  
“Hi Monkey.” Tobin smiled and set her daughter back on the ground so she could check out the presents Kelley brought.  
  
Kelley walked up behind Tobin and hip checked her. “Your kids love me more!” She quipped.  
  
“You bribe them.” Tobin shoved her playfully.

Christen was still on the couch, laughing at the whole scene in front of her.  
  
Kelley had bought the kids a new kick ball, a couple coloring books and some toys for the pool at Christen parents house. Just small stuff that she knew they would love. They got everything out of the bag and started to spread out around the living room, opening each package.  
  
“Auntie Kelley, can we go play soccer with this ball?” Jaymes asked as she tried to bounce the kickball on the carpet.  
  
“Wait, you like soccer now? Hell yea, girly.” Kelley smiled and pumped her fist a little.  
  
“Heck yea.” Tobin corrected quickly, side eyeing Kelley.  
  
“Whoopsies, yes I meant heck.” Kelley recovered, bending down to distract the kids from her words. Christen and Tobin just laughed again. _Classic Aunt Kelley._  
  
Kelley took the kids outside to kick the kickball around in the front yard. She also promised to teach them how to play foursquare with it later.    
  
Christen was baking some cookies and cleaning up the kitchen while the kids were distracted outside. Tobin had gone out after a bit and watched them kick the ball around, before she told Kelley she was going to jump in the shower.  
  
Making her way back inside, Tobin found Christen in the kitchen, plopping the last of the cookie dough on a baking sheet. “Babe, it smells amazing in here.” Tobin smiled, wrapping her arms around Christen from behind.  
  
“Want to lick the spoon?” Christen asked, holding it up for Tobin.  
  
Tobin dipped her head to kiss the back of Christen’s neck quickly, ignoring her wife’s question. “Hmm, I can think of something else I want to lick.” She whispered, placing another kiss to Christen’s soft neck.  
  
Christen let out a laugh. “Wow, I really set you up for that one.”  
  
“Sorry, I had to.” Tobin laughed, moving her lips to Christen ear. “And I want to.” She husked, before she nibbled a bit on Christen's ear lobe.  
  
Christen swallowed a little heavier than a moment ago, spinning around to face Tobin, giving her a sweet kiss. “Honey, don’t tease me when you know we don’t have the time or the privacy for that to happen right now.”  
  
“Come shower with me. Kelley has the kids.” Tobin suggested, softening her eyes to give her best pleading look.  
  
“That will last all of five minutes before they are wondering where we are. And the cookies aren’t done.” Christen sighed, wrapping her arms around Tobin’s shoulders so they could share a hug.  
  
Tobin let her hands snake under Christen’s t-shirt, rubbing up and down her stomach lightly, moving her hands up over her ribs. “I want you.” Tobin leaned into her wife, kissing her lips this time.  
  
“Mmm. Later. I promise.” Christen responded against Tobin’s lips, giving her another peck.  
  
“Fine.. cold shower it is.” Tobin pouted a little, grabbing the spoon of cookie dough out of the bowl and heading for their bedroom.  
  
“I love you.” Christen called with a smile as she watched Tobin walk away.  
  
Tobin spun around to face Christen, walking backwards for a moment. “I love you more.”  
  
When the last tray of cookies were out of the oven, Christen loaded up a plate and took them outside where Kelley and the kids had switched to drawing with chalk on the driveway. Christen passed the cookies around and sat down on the grass, watching her kids and best friend draw away. After a few minutes, their neighbor came out in the front yard with his dog, a yellow lab who was a couple years old.  
  
“Baxter!” Christen yelled as she saw the dog. Baxter came running over to greet Christen, licking her face and hopping right into her lap. The kids came running over to pet him and Baxter took his time making his rounds to each of the humans, soaking up all the attention. The kids went back to drawing with chalk while Christen and the neighbor guy made small talk.  
  
Nobody was paying attention to Baxter as he started playing with the new kickball that Kelley had just given the kids. He somehow got his mouth around the ball and started to shake his head wildly.  
  
“Baxter, that’s my ball!” Jaymes yelled to the dog, noticing him with it.  
  
Before anyone could trap Baxter and get the ball away from him, his tooth punctured the soft lining and popped the ball, deflating it instantly.  
  
Jaymes was upset immediately, starting to cry as Baxter dropped the ball. “That was my new ball!” The little girl yelled out, balling up her fists in anger, before turning and sprinting towards the house.  
  
The neighbor felt terrible, putting Baxter back on his leash and scolding the dog softly.  
  
“Oh don’t worry about it. She has a million balls and toys to play with.” Christen tried to reassure her friendly neighbor. Kelley stood there and laughed, picking up Josh for a moment.  
  
A couple minutes went by and the man took off down the road with Baxter in tow. “Should we go check on her?” Kelley questioned to Christen.  
  
“Nah, sometimes she needs to cool off for a moment. I’m sure Tobin will check on her.” Christen responded, starting to pick up the toys in the yard.  
  
Another minute went by and Jaymes reemerged from the house, eyes puffy but dry.  
  
“Hey munchkin, I’ll get you another ball soon.” Kelley tried to comfort her, rubbing her hand over the little girl’s hair.  
  
“Baxter is a little dick!” Jaymes yelled out, clearly still mad about her new toy being ruined.  
  
Kelley lost it. It was so unexpected to hear those words come out of a four year old's mouth.  
  
“Jaymes Tyler Heath.” Christen said, elbowing Kelley to get her to stop laughing. “We do not say that.”  
  
Kelley’s eyes were watering as she silently laughed to herself, turning around to face away from the kids as Christen was scolding her daughter.  
  
Tobin walked outside with her hair damp from the shower, surveying the scene in front of her. “What is happening?”  
  
Josh got up from the driveway and walked towards Tobin. “Mama. Jay in trouble.”  
  
“Alright buddy.” Tobin said, distracting Josh and trying not to draw more attention to her daughter and wife, who were now having a stern conversation.  
  
“You guys wanna grab lunch? Why don’t we go get pizza or something?” Kelley suggested after everyone calmed down.  
  
“I love pizza!” Joshua squealed, running over to where Kelley was standing.  
  
“I know, me too buddy!” Kelley excitedly picked up the boy again. “Tell your moms, let's do it.”  
  
Jaymes was quietly sitting on the grass, still a little upset from losing her ball and then getting in trouble a bit ago, but her eyes drifted hopefully to Christen, waiting for her to say yes or no.

“Pizza?” Christen asked with a smile, turning to Tobin. “What do you think babe?” Already knowing the answer.  
  
 “I love when Kelley buys us pizza.” Tobin laughed.  
  
They all got cleaned up and ready to head to lunch, hopping in the car together to head to their usual pizza place. Kelley got talked into sitting in the back of Tobin’s SUV, in between car seats, instead of driving herself.  
  
“Can you sleep over?” Jaymes questioned as she held Kelley’s hand on the way to the restaurant.  
  
“I can’t tonight, baby girl. But soon I promise.” Kelley reassured her tiny friend. “We can ditch your moms and have a slumber party at my house.”  
  
“Okay!” Jaymes was happy with that suggestion. She loved slumber parties.  
  
The family ate and laughed over pizza and Kelley paid the bill even though Christen tried to take it, insisting that Tobin was joking earlier. Kelley just shrugged and said they could treat her next time, another excuse to get together.  
  
When they finally left the restaurant, the parking lot was packed in the bustle of a sunny Saturday afternoon. Tobin was trying to navigate the fastest way out, already annoyed with the traffic. In her rush, she hit an unsuspecting speed bump slightly too fast. The SUV bounced over the bump quickly, with Christen giving Tobin a wide eyed looked.  
  
“OHHHH! My Spleen!” Joshua yelled out in dramatic fashion.  
  
“Sorry! My bad. That came out of nowhere.” Tobin apologized, looking into the rear view mirror quickly. “Your spleen, buddy? Really?”  
  
Christen and Tobin started to laugh at the realization of Josh’s word choice. _Like he even knows what that is._  
  
“Babe, take it easy, our kids need their internal organs.” Christen joked, playfully swatting Tobin’s shoulder next to her.  
  
Tobin smiled and turned up the music a little, trying to drown out her family’s teasing for the rest of the drive home.  
  
When they got back to their house, Kelley said goodbye, needing to make an evening meeting. She promised Jaymes and Josh that she would have them over soon and Tobin plans on holding her to that so she can have a date night with Christen.

Crawling into bed that night, Christen had something on her mind that she had been wanting to mention to Tobin for a while. Recently it seemed like she just couldn’t get over how happy she was and how amazing her wife and kids were. It felt like every time she stopped to take a moment to herself during a busy day at work; or in the middle of picking up a yard filled with toys, it would hit her all over again. How perfect it all was. But every time she had those thoughts, there was this little nagging feeling that kept creeping in.  
  
Tobin shut the light off and slid under the covers next to Christen, pulling her in. Christen moved to drop her face into her usual spot in Tobin’s neck, sighing quietly for a moment.  
  
As Tobin was tracing patterns up and down Christen’s back, Christen spoke up.  
  
“Baby..”  
  
“Yea?” Tobin whispered quietly in the dark.  
  
“Can I tell you something?” Christen continued.  
  
“Of course.”  
  
Christen placed a kiss to Tobin’s neck and then wiggled up a little so her head was also resting on Tobin’s pillow, so they could be eye to eye.  
  
Tobin smiled at Christen through the darkness, running her hand over her hair and down her jaw, waiting patiently for Christen to speak again.  
  
“I love our crazy kids.” Christen said after a moment.  
  
“Me too. They are an adventure.” Tobin laughed, thinking it was odd that Christen had to ask to tell her that.  
  
“I think I want another one.” Christen whispered.  
  
_Ah there it is_.  
  
Tobin was silent for a moment before speaking. “You do, huh?” She questioned, processing the statement her wife just made.  
  
“Yea I think so. It’s just.. We’ve always talked about wanting a big family, and I see how great our kids are, and how much love exists in this family and I just feel like maybe a tiny little piece is incomplete. And I know you do a lot for our family already, but I could cut back my hours at work and I don’t need to keep doing game broadcasts. It’s not like we aren’t comfortable with money.” Christen was rambling.

“Chris..” Tobin cut in. “Slow down.”  
  
Christen closed her mouth and let a breath out through her nose, offering a small smile to Tobin.  
  
“I didn’t say no..” Tobin continued. She leaned in and kissed Christen softly, slowing her down some more.  
  
“How long have you been thinking about this?” Tobin asked after another second of silence.  
   
“A while..” Christen admitted. “Actually, it feels like it’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. Whenever I’m not occupied, I find my thoughts drifting there.”  
  
“Babe, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Tobin asked.  
  
“I guess I was still just processing my feelings on it and I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”  
  
“Christen, I want you to tell me every thought you have. It wouldn’t have overwhelmed me.” Tobin pulled her in a little closer. “It’s not like I haven’t thought about more kids.”  
  
Tobin was the one who always said she wanted six kids. Christen assumed it was a joke, because well, that’s a lot of kids. And it scared her a little to ask more of Tobin, when she already gives so much of herself to Christen and the kids. Always putting them before herself. But it made Christen fall even farther in love, listening to Tobin admit she had thought the same thing.  
  
“I love Jaymes and Joshua. So much.” Christen smiled again, thinking of her babies. “And it would be awesome for them to have another sister or brother.”  
  
“Yea it would.” Tobin agreed, finding Christen’s hand under the covers and locking their fingers together lazily.  
  
“And who knows, it may not happen and we may not get lucky like we have twice already. Maybe the adoption agency will tell us no this time. But I think it would be worth trying.” Christen finally felt like she could rest her case. A case that didn’t even need to be made so heavily.  
  
“Okay, babe.” Tobin shrugged. She was always so laid back, even about the most life-altering things.  
  
“God, I love you so much.” Christen grinned.  
  
“I love you too, baby. We can start to figure it out tomorrow.” Tobin replied, rolling over so she was now on top of Christen.  
  
“But for now..” Tobin’s hands found their way under Christen’s shirt, much like they had earlier in the day. “I believe this morning you promised me I could have you later.” Tobin leaned down and pressed her lips to Christen’s.  
  
Christen giggled, adjusting a little underneath Tobin. “You know, I think I remember saying that..” She was once again totally put at ease from Tobin’s complete support and understanding. The way she always was with anything in their life.    
  
Tobin spoke again as she started to push Christen’s shirt up and over her head. “Well, it’s now _later_ , I’m cashing in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this sucks. I don't love it but I didn't want to keep you waiting for an update any longer. Let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> This is an experiment, so bare with me. Let me know if I should keep going or not..


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